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Intellectual functioning in adults: Psychological and biological influences
BOOK aEvmws
477
REESE, DANIEL G., & WOOLFENDEN,RICHAaD M. Conceptual Application of Elementary Principles of Behavior. Kalamazoo, MI: Behaviordelia, 1973. iv + 57 Pp. $3.95. This is a unique approach to the systematic teaching of operant behavioral concepts to the psychological novice by means of decision tree oriented programs of increasing complexity. There are no references and the text itself is restricted to the barest minimum necessary to make the decision-tree and consequent answers comprehensible to the layest of laymen. The purpose of the text is to teach the student how to make conceptual discriminations for himself in the many examples provided in the hope that he will then be able to apply these principles in situations of his own.
CLAEmCE, GORDON S. Drugs and Human Behavior. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1973. 266 Pp. $1.85. This is a clearly written introduction to "experimental"--as contrasted with clinical-psychopharmacology. While it is the informed laymen to whom this book appears to be directed, it will also be useful to the beginning student in experimental psychology and to students and practitioners in a variety of mental health professions seeking a scholarly yet highly readable account of this rapidly expanding field. With the exception of the section on drugs and the brain, animal studies are excluded as a matter of policy. To standardize terminology proprietary drug names are avoided. The appended glossary of chemical names, drug types, and modes of action is particularly helpful (WHO terminology is employed and British and American equivalents are indicated whenever this is appropriate).
WESTMAN, WESLEY C. Programmed Learning Aid for Basic Facts on Drug Abuse. Homewood, IL: Learning Systems, 1972. vi + 26 Pp. $1.10. This is a better than most, concise, and objective programmed overview of the known facts about drugs and drug abuse. While geared toward those who are most likely to becoming involved in the drug scene (including parents, teachers, and high school students), it is also a useful little manual for the public at large. Unlike most programs of this nature, the answers to the True-False questions indicate why each statement is true or false. The author, experienced with both adolescent experimenters and long-term addicts, has published a full-length text on the topic.
JARVIK,LISSY E., EISDOREER,CARL,• BLUM,JUNE E. (Eds.). Intellectual Functioning in Adults: Psychological and Biological Influences. New York: Springer, 1973. xii + 177 Pp. $7.50. Drawn from various papers presented by the Division on Adult Development and Ageing at the 1968 and 1970 meetings of the American Psychological Association, the 17 selected for reproduction here---updated in certain instances--reflect both current research and clinical utility. The approach is interdisciplinary in nature-covering psychological, biological, and life history variables--with psychiatrists
478
~OOK REVIEWS
and psychologists constituting most of the contributors. Section I, concentrating upon longitudinal research into intellectual change, includes the oldest developmental study on the young (the Berkeley Growth Study) and the oldest ongoing project on the aged (New York State Psychiatric Institute Twin Study). Section II examines some of the somatic correlates of psychological change in adults and Section III focuses upon the Life History as an aid to an understanding of the complex interactions of somatic, cognitive, and social influences upon intellectual function. Finally, Section IV neatly draws together the whole scene and discusses the prospects for further longitudinal research in this area.
DIITMANN, A~-~N T. Interpersonal Messages of Emotion. New York: Springer, 1973. vii + 232 Pp. $7.95. The author, currently a Research Psychologist at the NIMH, had set himself an ambitious task: the provision of a complete conceptual framework for theorizing about emotional communication. This book is a report of the work involved in integrating a variety of theories about communication, in particular, Sharmon's mathematical theory of communication and Broadbent's theory of selective attention, into one coherent structure. The Introduction surveys the field of human communication in general and emotional communication in particular; Part I is expository, focusing in detail upon the mathematical theory of communication, communication theory, and the psychology of those who communicate; Part II discusses problems of research into emotional communication. Clearly written yet scholarly in nature, with helpful summaries at the end of each chapter, this book probes systematically into an area where few replicable data have hitherto been available---the interactions between speaker and listener, the relationships between the behavior of the one and the interpretation of the other.
CHESS, STELLA,& TaOMAS, ALEXANDER (Eds.). Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development, 1972. New York: Brunner Mazel, 1972. x + 742 Pp. $15.00. The fifth in this now well-established annual series, the present volumes spans the year 1971. The 42 reprinted articles are grouped into 12 sections; Infancy Studies; Developmental Issues; Perception and Cognition; Learning Issues; Speech Disorders; Mental Retardation; the Hyperactive Child; Clinical Studies; Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia; Reactions to Physical Illness; Treatment; Delivery of Services. Behavior therapy is represented by Baker and Ward's article (American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, No. 1, 1971 ) on the "total milieu" use of reinforcement techniques with six severely retarded children (IQ below 25) and Hersen's review of the behavioral treatment of school phobia (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, No. 2, 1971 ). Also of interest is Zigler and Bella's penetrating critique of Luria's verbal deficiency theory of mental deficiency (American 1ournal of Mental Deficiency, No. 4, 1971 ).
477
REESE, DANIEL G., & WOOLFENDEN,RICHAaD M. Conceptual Application of Elementary Principles of Behavior. Kalamazoo, MI: Behaviordelia, 1973. iv + 57 Pp. $3.95. This is a unique approach to the systematic teaching of operant behavioral concepts to the psychological novice by means of decision tree oriented programs of increasing complexity. There are no references and the text itself is restricted to the barest minimum necessary to make the decision-tree and consequent answers comprehensible to the layest of laymen. The purpose of the text is to teach the student how to make conceptual discriminations for himself in the many examples provided in the hope that he will then be able to apply these principles in situations of his own.
CLAEmCE, GORDON S. Drugs and Human Behavior. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1973. 266 Pp. $1.85. This is a clearly written introduction to "experimental"--as contrasted with clinical-psychopharmacology. While it is the informed laymen to whom this book appears to be directed, it will also be useful to the beginning student in experimental psychology and to students and practitioners in a variety of mental health professions seeking a scholarly yet highly readable account of this rapidly expanding field. With the exception of the section on drugs and the brain, animal studies are excluded as a matter of policy. To standardize terminology proprietary drug names are avoided. The appended glossary of chemical names, drug types, and modes of action is particularly helpful (WHO terminology is employed and British and American equivalents are indicated whenever this is appropriate).
WESTMAN, WESLEY C. Programmed Learning Aid for Basic Facts on Drug Abuse. Homewood, IL: Learning Systems, 1972. vi + 26 Pp. $1.10. This is a better than most, concise, and objective programmed overview of the known facts about drugs and drug abuse. While geared toward those who are most likely to becoming involved in the drug scene (including parents, teachers, and high school students), it is also a useful little manual for the public at large. Unlike most programs of this nature, the answers to the True-False questions indicate why each statement is true or false. The author, experienced with both adolescent experimenters and long-term addicts, has published a full-length text on the topic.
JARVIK,LISSY E., EISDOREER,CARL,• BLUM,JUNE E. (Eds.). Intellectual Functioning in Adults: Psychological and Biological Influences. New York: Springer, 1973. xii + 177 Pp. $7.50. Drawn from various papers presented by the Division on Adult Development and Ageing at the 1968 and 1970 meetings of the American Psychological Association, the 17 selected for reproduction here---updated in certain instances--reflect both current research and clinical utility. The approach is interdisciplinary in nature-covering psychological, biological, and life history variables--with psychiatrists
478
~OOK REVIEWS
and psychologists constituting most of the contributors. Section I, concentrating upon longitudinal research into intellectual change, includes the oldest developmental study on the young (the Berkeley Growth Study) and the oldest ongoing project on the aged (New York State Psychiatric Institute Twin Study). Section II examines some of the somatic correlates of psychological change in adults and Section III focuses upon the Life History as an aid to an understanding of the complex interactions of somatic, cognitive, and social influences upon intellectual function. Finally, Section IV neatly draws together the whole scene and discusses the prospects for further longitudinal research in this area.
DIITMANN, A~-~N T. Interpersonal Messages of Emotion. New York: Springer, 1973. vii + 232 Pp. $7.95. The author, currently a Research Psychologist at the NIMH, had set himself an ambitious task: the provision of a complete conceptual framework for theorizing about emotional communication. This book is a report of the work involved in integrating a variety of theories about communication, in particular, Sharmon's mathematical theory of communication and Broadbent's theory of selective attention, into one coherent structure. The Introduction surveys the field of human communication in general and emotional communication in particular; Part I is expository, focusing in detail upon the mathematical theory of communication, communication theory, and the psychology of those who communicate; Part II discusses problems of research into emotional communication. Clearly written yet scholarly in nature, with helpful summaries at the end of each chapter, this book probes systematically into an area where few replicable data have hitherto been available---the interactions between speaker and listener, the relationships between the behavior of the one and the interpretation of the other.
CHESS, STELLA,& TaOMAS, ALEXANDER (Eds.). Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development, 1972. New York: Brunner Mazel, 1972. x + 742 Pp. $15.00. The fifth in this now well-established annual series, the present volumes spans the year 1971. The 42 reprinted articles are grouped into 12 sections; Infancy Studies; Developmental Issues; Perception and Cognition; Learning Issues; Speech Disorders; Mental Retardation; the Hyperactive Child; Clinical Studies; Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia; Reactions to Physical Illness; Treatment; Delivery of Services. Behavior therapy is represented by Baker and Ward's article (American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, No. 1, 1971 ) on the "total milieu" use of reinforcement techniques with six severely retarded children (IQ below 25) and Hersen's review of the behavioral treatment of school phobia (Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, No. 2, 1971 ). Also of interest is Zigler and Bella's penetrating critique of Luria's verbal deficiency theory of mental deficiency (American 1ournal of Mental Deficiency, No. 4, 1971 ).